


Far Flung STARs

by Pixy_revenge



Series: Westward STARs [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Character Deaths Mentioned, Gen, Grief, Tagging as I go, for various reasons, out takes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 05:37:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6271876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixy_revenge/pseuds/Pixy_revenge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These are only part of the Westward STARs, in that they are scenarios I can see happening. Or occasionally they just don't work with the main thread of the series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Far Flung STARs

**Author's Note:**

> Wally and Caitlin talk about dead/semi-dead/might as well be dead significant others.  
> And I couldn't figure out if Caitlin was getting to weepy. Let's be clear, I think Caitlin is an extremely strong person. Grief can make you think poorly about yourself. 
> 
> Based on my experiences.

The halls of STAR labs were good for a lot of things (tour groups, wheel chair access, and desk chair racing just to name a few), but privacy featured nowhere on that list. However, considering that she was the only woman with actual access to the building, Caitlin thought she could at least have a good cry in the women’s restroom without anyone noticing. A knock on the door proved her wrong.

“Caitlin?” A voice still unfamiliar called out softly.

“Go away, Wally.” She said, congestion making her sound more pathetic than she really meant to.

“You left the cortex pretty fast.” He sounded like he was approaching a wild animal, rather than a heartbroken widow.

“I’ll be fine; I just need a few minutes.” She was still crying, but her voice was stronger now, barely wavering and with only a hint of sniffles. She had to be fine, just because Ronnie was gone, didn’t mean the world didn’t keep turning. She just had to be strong, and put one step in front of the other.

The door swung open, and Wally stepped inside. He awkwardly hung in the doorway, clearly disbelieving that she was in any way fine, but unwilling to move farther into the girls room than he really had to.

“You –uh- didn’t seem that fine when you left, and I’ve been told I have really good crying shoulders.” That startled a laugh out of her.

“What?” He brushed the question off with a wave.

“It’s a long story.” He settled by the door and waved her over. “Not actually all that interesting.” She hesitated by the sinks, looking down at her hands. She wasn’t this kind of a lady.

“Cisco mentioned what today was.” She steadfastly did not start crying again. It was a stupid thing to cry over. She was a strong woman, and she would get through this. “I thought you might like a crying partner.” She didn’t need to be coddled, and he wasn’t her friend, but she could at least sit next to him, their sides pressed together. She suppressed some hiccupping sobs.

“It’s his birthday.” She whispered softly. “I didn’t even realize it until I checked my phone for the time. I feel so silly. It just hit me out of nowhere. I know he wouldn’t want me moping but-“ her voice broke, and when she looked at Wally she thought she saw tears in his eyes too. He gave a halfhearted laugh.

“I,” he cleared his throat and started again, “I was thinking about my girlfriend. I was going to pick out a ring before.” He made an aborted gesture around the room. “The last thing I said to her was that we should go back to Paris when we didn’t have a world to save. She said there was always a world to save. I just-”

“You must think I’m a sobbing mess, compared to her.”

“Who, Artemis? She still cries when Aladdin frees the Genie, and then she punches me for being insensitive.” She let out a half snort. “He wouldn’t want you to force yourself to be happy Caitlin, and sometimes that means crying over stupid things. I don’t want Artemis to be sad, but I don’t want her to hold herself back either.”

Caitlin gave in and pulled his arm around her, leaning into his shoulder. They sat there for a long time, occasionally passing stories about Ronnie and Artemis back and forth, crying and laughing until no more tears would come. When she got tired of sitting on the floor, she rolled his arm off her shoulders, and stood up.

“Thanks for,” and today was just a day for vague gestures wasn’t it.

“Me too.” He gave a sad smile.

She glanced at her watch. “Want to come over and mock low budget Sci-Fi movies with me?”

He really did have great crying shoulders.


End file.
